Breaking The Looking Glass
by Lady Bella
Summary: For the second time that day she was frozen in shock and revulsion. Her mouth dropped open to scream, but no noise escaped her lips.
1. Free Fall

Disclaimer I own nothing. Good for me.  
  
It was almost funny. The day had started off so nice. School ended the Friday before and now it was winter break. This was the much needed break for all the teenagers.  
  
The day started off nice enough for Erin. Then again waking up at noon is always a nice way to start the day.  
  
Looking at the clock beside her bed Erin discovered it was indeed past noon. It took a while for this thought to reach her sleepy mind. When it did she stopped mid-stretch.  
  
'Mom said she would wake me up early to go to church. She never lets me sleep in on Sundays.' Erin thought, a small smile slowly stretching across her face.  
  
'Maybe she took pity on me and let me sleep in.'  
  
With that thought in mind she sat up in bed and listened to the sounds of her house. Silence was the only thing to greet her ears. With six people living in that house it was never silent.  
  
'Strange,' she thought distantly. 'Maybe they went without me.'  
  
Erin climbed out of bed, almost tripping on her sheets in the process, and decided to get dressed. Since no one woke her up she'd just eat breakfast, err lunch. Stumbling toward her closet she grabbed her old white sneakers from the floor. Finding the most comfortable jeans and shirt in her closet Erin quickly got dressed, her tummy growling for food. She might as well go out to eat.  
  
Heading toward her bedroom door she paused only to tie a sweater around her waist and to sling a small backpack on her shoulders. The old faded blue pack doubled as her purse. However, one look in the mirror halted her. Grumbling quietly to herself, she snatched a brush off the dresser and ran it in her waist-length hair. Giving up, she opted to tie it back with a rubber band. She headed to the door, intent on finding some food. Once she opened the bedroom door she nearly gagged. An offensive odor invaded her nose, as she stepped into the hallway.  
  
'What the hell has my family been eating?!' was first her thought, as she covered her nose with her hand.  
  
'I knew it was a mistake to let them eat those beans last night.'  
  
Shaking her head Erin walked down the hall thinking of the horrible smells in her family's home. She didn't even notice the smashed window till she stepped on the broken glass. And then she froze.  
  
"What the...?" she muttered half in shock.  
  
The living room had been trashed. The sofas were torn apart. White stuffing was scattered across the floor. The pile of splintered wood on the floor was all that was left of the coffee table. The pictures that once hung on the wall lay trampled on the floor. The TV was beyond any kind of repair. The walls themselves had slashes and gashes in them, all of different sizes. Nothing else in the room could be recognized. Mud and some other rank filth were tracked across the beige carpet. The mud trail and destruction seemed to continue in to the next room.  
  
Erin was still rooted to the floor in shock, and she was just confused. The sight before her didn't make any sense.  
  
'This mess shouldn't be in my home', she thought franticly, 'what happened?!'  
  
As she looked around the room again, her eyes were drawn to the window. Her mind finally started to catch up. The glass from the window was laying broken in front of her, not outside. Something must have broken the glass from the outside.  
  
Panic almost choked her; whatever broke the window came in the house. They tracked in the mud from the flowerbed outside the window. Someone was in her house. A small bubble of fear welled up inside of her chest.  
  
"Breathe, just breathe." Erin whispered to herself.  
  
Her own words sounded deafening in the still quiet of her house. Again she was struck by the eeriness of this silence. A thought finally made it to her head.  
  
'Where's my family? Is this some sort of sick joke?!' Erin mentally screamed.  
  
Already in the back of her mind Erin knew. She knew that her family, ever the pranksters, would never wreck the house.  
  
With some kind of horrible fixation, Erin moved across the wrecked area following the muddy tracks into the next room. The kitchen, she thought numbly, looked worse than the living room. Every thing was smashed. The cabinet doors were almost completely ripped off their hinges, save the one small door, that silently hung from one hinge.  
  
Erin's mind was detached as she sniffed the air—the putrid air. It was still there, she thought dazedly. She didn't really take in the things she saw. Dread grew in her chest. She followed the trail of debris through her house trying to find the source. Every room she came across was much the same—destroyed.  
  
By the time Erin made it to her parents' bedroom door she was shaking all over. There was no sign of her family. No sign of the person who broke into her home and wrecked it. This was the last room to check. It was at this time she finally woke from her mental stupor.  
  
'This is crazy! My family isn't in the house. I should get the hell out of here. I'm lucky I didn't run into the person that did this. I'm outta here!' Erin thought.  
  
Just as she turned to leave, the door creaked open. Instantly her hand reached up to cover her nose. The smell was unbearable. The stench that plagued her all this morning came from this room.  
  
Looking down she saw more muck and glass on the floor. Slowly she stepped in to the room, eyes following the mud trail. A few feet into the room the mud mixed with dark liquid. The liquid and the mud formed a puddle in the center of the room. The longer Erin looked at the puddle the more she noticed about it. It was still wet, and the color almost looked like a black deep red. Something dripped into the puddle and made it ripple. Erin stared at it again. And again it rippled.  
  
'What's dripping into the puddle?' Erin wondered dumbly.  
  
Slowly she lifted her gaze for the first time since she entered the room. For the second time that day she was frozen in shock and revulsion. Her mouth dropped open to scream, but no noise escaped her lips.  
  
Her eyes glazed over as her mind flung itself to a long ago memory.  
  
When Erin was little her parents took her and her sisters to visit a friend of the family at his business. The kind old man owned a butcher shop, and he gave them a tour. It was all fun till he showed them how he stored the meat. On hooks. Where the blood dripped down and made a miniature river that flowed to a drain in the center of the floor. Erin never looked at meat the same again.  
  
When Erin looked up that's what she thought she saw. Large chunks of meat and flesh hung from sharp pieces of metal, crude hooks on chains that came from holes punctured into the ceiling. Erin stared at it with a kind of morbid fascination.  
  
Suddenly it dawned on her. These weren't animal carcasses; these rotting pieces of meat were the bodies of her family. What was left could hardly be called a body, only scraps were left. Of the five that hung there none had heads. The necks were ragged. The heads weren't cut off, they were torn off. The hooks went though the back, and stuck out the front of the chest. The arms and legs were missing. Muscle tissue clung to the joints in bloodied heaps. All that hung was the torso. In places skin had been ripped from the torso and the ribs were exposed to the air. All that was left of their clothes were pieces of tattered cloth. They were human corpses, that much could be seen.  
  
Erin shook her head, trying to make these images disappear.  
  
"It's not real. I...This can't be happening." She mumbled aloud. "This can't be REAL!!!" She screamed to the mangled flesh.  
  
The bedroom door slammed shut. Erin jumped as she whipped around. It felt like the very light of the room was sucked out. The air became thick and oppressive. The smell of the room was stronger now, and it almost choked her. The room got colder and the hairs on the back of Erin's neck were standing on end. Someone was in the room with her.  
  
"Sssso you're the one massster wantsss." A voice hissed from the corner.  
  
'Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god.' Erin chanted in her head, as she slowly turned to the sound.  
  
A black robed figure emerged from a shadowy corner. It was tall, and it easily dwarfed Erin. It wore a hood that left its face covered in shadow. The thing seemed to float across the floor. In its armored hand it held a bloodied sword. From behind the robed man came another creature different from the first. The creature was shorter, and almost looked like a badly deformed man. The skin was dark grey, almost black. The thing had red eyes. Sharp yellow teeth poked though blood-coated, deformed lips. It also wore crude armor covered in blood. The creature sneered at Erin and took a few steps toward her. The robe figure started to chant something in a hushed tone.  
  
'Oh god oh god ohgodohgodohgodohGOD!!!' was all Erin could get though her head.  
  
Erin started to step backwards, trying to keep as much distance between the monster and her. She stopped suddenly when her back hit something soft and wet. She knew now that she had backed herself against a bloody torso, and she found that she was now standing in a puddle of her family's blood. She wanted to scream, she wanted to hide, and she wanted to wake up, NOW!  
  
The robed figure stopped chanting and turned toward Erin, letting out a long ear piercing shriek that made her blood run cold. The creature cringed as well. Erin held her hands over her ears, closed her eyes and prayed that this noise wouldn't cause her head to split open. It felt like she was falling down into darkness, and all she knew was fear.  
  
Then she realized she was falling, sinking down into the puddle of blood, sinking through the floor. Erin panicked and tried desperately to keep her head above the blood. The monster-like creature was now beside the mini-pond of blood, kneeling down. It grabbed a handful of Erin's hair and gave a sharp yank. It brought its grey black face level with hers. It's foul unwanted breath caressing her face.  
  
"Where you go, be sssssure to sssssurvive. I ssssshall have fun with you when the masssssssster is done, my pet..." With that the creature shoved Erin's head below the blood.  
  
The world turned black, and her shriek faded into the background and Erin knew no more.  
  
TBC???  
  
Author's Ramblings: Well that's it for now. Next chapter Erin wakes up in, you've guessed it, Middle Earth. Might seem a bit Sue-ish at first, but I promise no real Sue. I'm trying to make the character as real as possible. Please review and tell me what you think, suggestions are welcome. That's all for now- Lady Bella 


	2. Rise and Shine

Disclaimer: I still own nothing. But, but. If you wish it so, you may have the lint in my pockets. :D Author's Note: Here's chapter two, please bear with me. Mae shall be beta- reading my wonderfully wonderful fic. xD She is now my slllaaaave. whiplashes

Poke.  
  
Poke.  
  
Poke, poke.  
  
'What the hell?' was Erin's first coherent thought as her muddled mind surfaced to consciousness.  
  
Erin started to become aware of herself. She was laying on her back, on something hard and uncomfortable. Her head was pounding, and even though her eyes were closed, she saw a flash of color every time her head pulsed. Erin's whole body hurt, the only thing she wanted to do now was to go back to sleep. The only thing that stopped her—  
  
Poke, poke.  
  
Poke. Pokepokepoke. POKE  
  
With the last poke Erin couldn't hold down a groan.  
  
'That's it,' she thought angrily. 'One more poke and I'm gonna get violent.'  
  
For a tense moment, there was nothing, and Erin let out a small happy sigh and then  
  
-Poke,  
  
Erin snapped open her eyes and instantly regretted it when harsh sun light greeted her. From somewhere beside her came a shout of surprise.  
  
"Curse you, you evil sun." mumbled a very grumpy teenager as she rolled to her side.  
  
Ever so slowly she tried once again to open her eyes. It was still too bright. Erin brought up her hand to shield the sun from her squinting eyes. Her movements were slow, her whole body felt weak. With as much energy as she could muster, she slowly sat up. The first thing she noticed when her eyes adjusted to the light were the colors blue and black.  
  
'Oh looks like eyes.' She thought remotely.  
  
She was staring into someone's blue eyes. The eyes themselves were so close to her face that they were all she could see.  
  
'Really big creepy eyes...'  
  
Erin stared into the eyes.  
  
The eyes stared back.  
  
When the eyes suddenly blinked, it broke Erin out of the small trance. And she came back to her senses.  
  
Erin jerked backward with a squeak.  
  
The person with blue eyes also let out a scream.  
  
Erin, in her haste to get away from this new person, leaned as far back as she could causing her to promptly fall off the rock she had been sitting on. The wind was knocked out of her in a whoosh as her back hit the rocky ground.  
  
"That'll leave a mark," she groaned. Almost painfully, Erin pulled her self up and got the first good look at her new surroundings.  
  
She sat in a vast field. The field itself was barren, except for a few large rocks like the one she had been laying on. To her right was a hill. On the crest of the hill stood an emaciated ruin. This place was like nothing Erin had seen before.  
  
An excited voice to her left drew her attention. There stood the weirdest people she had ever seen. There were four short men and another man—who was taller, why he even looked like a regular human—who stood off to the side. They all had curly hair of various lengths. None of these four were wearing shoes, which let Erin get a glimpse at their large hairy feet. And all of them were short, really short. They were lucky if they reach four feet high. Three of them were staring openly at Erin, mouths gaped. The fourth was talking rapidly to another man who looked stern and tense and his hand, Erin noticed, gripped a sword. And hey, was that—a pony?!?.  
  
All four midgets, as Erin had come to think of them, dressed, well, Erin wasn't sure how to describe what they wore. It just looked weird to her. The clothes were traveling clothes from an earlier century.  
  
Erin's attention was once again drawn to the man with the sword. The tall man had chin length dark hair. He looked like something out of the dark ages, and he looked dirty. As if he hadn't had a bath in days. He was cute in a scruffy ragged sort of way. He too was staring at Erin now, his right hand tightening around his sword.  
  
'Ok, strange man has a big sharp sword thing? It's time to find out what the hell is going on and where the hell I am.'  
  
"Excuse me...?" Erin began quietly but she trailed off. The three midgets were talking amongst themselves now, pointing at her every now and then. The tall man seemed to be lecturing the other midget, never letting his eyes leave her form. Erin couldn't make out what they were saying.  
  
"Hello," she tried again a little louder, but again they ignored her. Erin felt her left eye twitch. She needed answers and these weirdoes weren't helping.  
  
"HEY THERE YOU MIDGETS!!!" Erin yelled. She had the satisfaction to watch them give a small surprised jump at her shout. All of them turned and faced her. Erin was happy. 'Time to get some answers' but her thoughts were cut short when a tall man rushed her. Next thing Erin knew her face was in the dirt and tall man had pinned her arms behind her back.  
  
Erin finally came to her senses and started to struggle. Quicker than she thought possible, her hands and feet were tied with a strong itchy rope. She was then pulled into an uncomfortable sitting position, being forced to sit on top of her legs. Things officially sucked.  
  
"PLEASE DON'T RAPE ME!!!" Erin shook her head violently back and forth.  
  
She tried to figure out if this was really happening. If Erin wasn't currently sporting a new cut on her elbow, she would swear that this whole thing had to be some kind of nightmare brought on by stress. But, you couldn't get hurt in your dreams, and that scratch stung. So this must either be real or Erin was crazy. Preferring to think herself sane, she decided that the other people, who carried swords, were not only crazy, they were dangerous.  
  
Now if only she thought of that before they tied her up.  
  
She was rather roughly shaken from her thoughts by the tall man. Apparently he had been trying to get her attention for quite some time. Once he was satisfied he had her full attention, he began to speak.  
  
"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" Erin started angrily, interrupted before the man started to speak. However, the strange group of men ignored her- again. The tall man started to talk to her in a serious voice.  
  
"Blah blah blah." This continued for some time.  
  
That's all Erin heard. It took her a second to realize that he was speaking some strange language she didn't know. Her confused face must have clued him in to that fact. After that, as far as Erin could tell, the tall man tried several different languages. For the next ten minutes Erin managed to amuse herself by trying to guess what he was saying.  
  
After twenty minutes he was back to the first one he used. He was obviously frustrated and Erin could clearly see a vein throbbing on his forehead. If he wasn't so proud Erin was sure he would be rubbing his temples in exasperation. Erin smirked at the thought.  
  
She frowned a little when she realized that none of them spoke English. Erin thought it was too bad that she had never bothered to learn another language.  
  
He then sighed, rather dramatically, breaking her train of thoughts, and turned to talk to his short companions, who were already chatting with each other.  
  
Erin took this time to try to figure out how the heck she got here. She could remember going to bed last night, and she had a dream. Erin couldn't recall what the dream was about, only the feeling it gave her. It must have been an awful dream if she couldn't remember it. And then she woke up here, on a rock, in the middle of no were, with five freaky men and one cute pony.  
  
The tall man walked back toward Erin. His conversation with the short dudes was over, and seemed to have come to a decision. He bent down so that he was eye level with Erin.  
  
"Strider" He said clearly, while pointing to himself. He looked to Erin and waited for her to respond.  
  
'Yes you Tarzan, me Jane...' Erin thought sarcastically.  
  
Looking back at the man, she found that he still waited for her to say something.  
  
"Erin." she said while pointing to herself as much as the ropes would allow.  
  
The tall man, now known as Strider nodded. He then pointed to the four short men, naming each one in turn.  
  
Frodo had black hair, and stood slightly behind Sam who was a little chubby. Next to them stood Merry, as Strider called him. Erin felt bad for him, thinking he must have been teased a lot when he was growing up for having such a girly name. Beside him was Pippin, who looked younger than the others. Strider said something to them and the short guys started gathering their things. Sam took the pony's reigns and started to walk him toward the large hill with the ruin on top and the other midgets followed.  
  
'Their leaving me here? All tied up?' Erin thought wildly.  
  
She looked back to Strider who hadn't started to walk away yet. He looked down at her for a moment before pulling Erin to her feet in one swift motion. Erin became aware of pain as soon as she was standing. Sitting on top of her legs for so long cut off the blood flow and now it was rushing back.  
  
She also became aware that he was way too close. And, yes, she was right about the lack of bathing. Being so close to a strange man unnerved her—not to mention his choice of bath soap, or lack thereof.  
  
"Ok, how 'bout some space here. Respect my personal bubble." Erin had a sudden urge to bite his hand that was currently keeping her up, but withheld herself for fear of catching something—like lice?  
  
The man ignored her, and he took a knife from who knows where, and Erin felt her self grow cold.  
  
'Oh god, he's going to kill me.' Erin thought as she tried not to panic. When Strider merely cut the bonds around her feet, she felt her self relax slightly, and she let out a shaky sigh.  
  
'Maybe he was going to let me go after all.' She thought happily.  
  
However, her hopes were dashed when Strider got a firm grip on her upper arm and started to guide her toward the hill. The "firm" grip would most likely leave a bruise. Erin briefly thought about cooperating, and then quickly dismissed the idea.  
  
'Why should I make this any easier for my captors?'  
  
The rest of the way to the hill Erin tried to drag her feet in the ground in an effort to slow them down. Every few minutes she would trip or stumble, and Strider had to stop and set her on her feet again. This caused him to grow annoyed very quickly, and Erin was delighted when she noticed that the vein on his forehead was convulsing again.  
  
However Erin found it less than amusing when Strider ended up lifting her off the ground and carrying her over his shoulder.  
  
'Yes, I know. You Tarzan...me Jane.'  
  
But the muscles in his back... she definitely didn't mind those, oh no. Erin used her knee to poke his stomach.  
  
'Talk about abs of steel. I wonder how many sit-ups he does a day?'  
  
Poke. Poke. She looked back over her shoulder and saw a muscle in his cheek twitching now. Erin smiled. Poke.  
  
However her new found happiness quickly faded. To say that she was less than happy about this arrangement, was an understatement. Not only was all the blood being rushed to her head, she had to breathe out of her mouth, for fear she might choke to death on his body odor.  
  
He even managed to pass the midgets with his new pace as he walked. This gave her a lovely view of the short dudes, who not only were also dirty but they keep making funny faces at her. By the time they reached the ruins on top of the hill the sun was starting to set, and Erin was in a foul mood. It didn't help any when Strider dropped her, ever so gracefully on her butt.  
  
For a few seconds Erin thought she was going to pass out. All the blood drained from her head in a matter of seconds.  
  
When she looked up, Strider was giving all of the short men dagger-like swords, and then walked off.  
  
'Oh yes, just hand out sharp pointy objects and don't even stick around to make sure no one pokes out an eye. Very smart.'  
  
The short men all started to give their swords experimental swings. One almost hit her.  
  
'How do I get myself in to these messes?' Erin wondered dully.  
  
TBC  
  
This might be the last chapter I post. No one reviewed my last chapter. If no one likes my story, then I won't write it any more. Please review and tell me if I should continue. 


	3. King of the Hill

**Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings. But, I do own a shiny nickel named Bob.**

* * *

'They were doing it again' Erin thought angrily.  
  
Her hands were still tied behind her back. She was tired, hungry, sweaty and cranky. The worse part; she was starting to smell. Soon she feared that she and Strider would smell the same. Oh the horrors of smelling like a (dirty) man. On top of that those little people were giving her a headache.  
  
Strider was still no where to be found. Erin didn't mind him being gone either. That man had a caveman mentality: the lack of bathing and his rough treatment was all the proof Erin needed.  
  
So that left Erin with the shorties. The joy...  
  
For the past half hour the midgets had been whispering to each other and just looking at her. It was obvious, almost painfully so, that they were talking about her. And that irritated Erin to no end. It wasn't that they were talking about her that bothered her: no, if someone here understood her, she would be talking about them too. It was the simple fact that she couldn't even understand their language, and they still felt the need to whisper.  
  
'Just great,' she thought sourly 'I've let myself be kidnapped by idiots.'  
  
That made Erin wonder; ' Am I mad because I am being held captive, or the fact that I was stupid enough to get caught by idiots?'  
  
In truth Erin realized, she was the idiot not them. After all, she was sitting here all tied up, and they weren't. That thought only severed to darken her mood.  
  
"Ooooooook, bored now..." Erin sighed.  
  
The worst part of the whole thing, the whole screwed up day, was the fact that she had nothing to do. Her friends often told her that she had the attention span of a small rodent. In an attempt to amuse herself Erin started to hum. The more she hummed, the better things seemed to be. Pretty soon she was singing quietly to the darkening sky.  
  
"This is the song that never ends..." She started off quietly, unaware that she now had an audience. At the sound of her voice the short men stopped and looked to her.  
  
"Yes it goes on and on my friends..." Her voice was louder now, and she started bounce her head to the tempo of the song.  
  
"Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, But they'll continue singing it forever just because..." It this point she was really into her song. She turned her head back toward the little guys as she was about to start the next verse, only to stop dead.  
  
The short men were looking at her with big wide eyes, mouths agape. Ever so slowly they began to inch farther away from her.  
  
"Oh come on now, I don't sing that badly." Erin mumbled.  
  
She got no response, they only moved farther away. Erin hung her head in defeat. It looked like she was stuck being bored. So she looked to the shorties and started to study them again.  
  
Looking at them once more, she began to study them. Frodo was getting ready to go to sleep. He set up his sleeping-roll-thingy a little ways off from the others. Sam, it seemed, was a tad protective of Frodo. Sam fussed over him like a mother hen. These two short dudes, Erin didn't have a problem with. In the short time she had been here they hadn't really done anything to her. Sure they probably thought she was insane, but Erin wasn't to sure about that herself.  
  
It was the other two she didn't like. They were the ones whispering and pointing at her. It didn't take Erin long to figure out that the one called Pippin was the one who had been poking her. He automatically lost points in her book for that. Merry was almost as bad. Right now it looked like he was trying to get Pippin to do something. No doubt it involved her, he kept looking at her.  
  
'Yes, now that's not completely obvious.' Erin mentally rolled her eyes.  
  
No less than five minutes later Pippin got to his feet with a determined look on his face, and started to walk toward her. And once again Erin stared at his feet. They really were big feet, and hairy too.  
  
'There like mini big foots.' Erin thought amusedly, 'I wonder if this little guys run around the woods back home, leaving footprints in the mud. That would explain all the belief in Big Foot. Hmmm, yes big feet, but small bodies.'  
  
Pippin stopped right in front of her, and he just stared her at.  
  
'Fine then, let's have us a staring contest.'  
  
He stared at her.  
  
She stared back him.  
  
'Hmmm, why does this seem so familiar? OH that's right, it's his fault I got kidnapped. It's time for a tiny bit pay back, this will be amusing.'  
  
Just because she was tied up didn't mean she could have a little fun. Erin had an evil idea.  
  
Erin let him stare. For five minutes she stared back. Then all of a sudden-  
  
"BOO!!!" Erin yelled at the top of her lungs.  
  
Merry and Pippin both screamed, and the latter clutched his heart.  
  
Erin started to laugh uncontrollably. Her sides started to ache and tears threatened to leak out of her eyes.  
  
When Erin was finally able to suppress her laughter she snuck a peek at the midgets. Sam didn't seem surprised at all. He was chuckling at the display, as was Merry, who had just over come his shock. Pippin was sulking and shot Erin a dirty look. Somehow Frodo managed to sleep through the whole thing.  
  
Erin was happy to learn that at least these people had a sense of humor. They didn't appear to be holding a grudge. This was a good thing, since, after all, she was their prisoner. Right now they were building a campfire to prepare food. Erin's stomach was rumbling. She realized with a start that she hadn't had anything to eat all day. She only hoped that they would show some pity and feed her while they ate.  
  
Again with nothing to do her mind began to wander.  
  
'How did I get here? Where the hell IS here any way?' She pondered.  
  
The last thing she remembered was going to bed the night before. Then it hit her, her clothes. She wasn't wearing her pajamas that she was wearing when she went to bed. Now she was wearing her favorite pair of jeans, sneakers and a black shirt. Nothing was making any sense.  
  
Erin thought back again. She could vaguely remember getting up. At first she dismissed it as a dream but now she wasn't so sure. Everything after that was a blur. The only thing she could recall after that was fear. It was right on the tip of her mind-  
  
Her thoughts were scattered by Frodo. Apparently he had woken up. He was yelling at the others, and started to stomp on the fire.  
  
'Looks like he not a morning person either.' Erin thought to herself, as he put out the flames.  
  
Less than a minute after Frodo stomped out the small campfire, and an inhuman shriek fill the night air. Erin felt her blood run cold. A shiver ran down her spine. The midgets seemed frozen as well.  
  
'That noise...' Erin thought, '...I know that noise. But from where?'  
  
Erin's body was screaming at her to run, or hide, or just to get the hell out of there. The midgets were freaking out too. Erin started to get up, but she realized that her hands were still bound behind her back. As quick as she could she sat down and slid her arms underneath her legs. Once she did that, she was able to get her hands in front of her. They were still tied but at least this way she would be able to run better.  
  
'Yes, running would be good.'  
  
Another shriek filled the night air, joining the first.  
  
'Running would be very good.'  
  
The midgets were tens steps ahead of her, literally. The short guys were making a break for a set of stairs that was just off to the side. Erin scrambled after them, she really had no place else to go. That thing was down there somewhere. The only place to go was up.  
  
And up she went. Erin ran after the midgets. When she finally caught up to them, they went as high in the ruin as they could go. They now stood on a plateau with the crumbling walls of the ruin around them. There was no other way up or down, they were trapped.  
  
"That's it! I'm never gonna follow any one ever again!" Erin screamed.  
  
The midgets turned and looked at her in surprise. They had forgotten all about her as they were running for their lives. Frodo said something to the others. And they all nodded. The quickly formed a circle around Frodo and Erin.  
  
'There protecting us? Thank God for chivalry! Tha's right, I'm a female, protect me!'  
  
Erin didn't understand what was going on or what was coming. She froze when the bone chilling shriek filled the air, this time others joined it. There was more than one. Something was nagging Erin in the back of her mind. She tried to block it out and concentrate on getting her hand untied from the itchy rope. The rough rope wouldn't budge, and the only thing Erin got for her efforts were bloodied wrists.  
  
She tried to remember how she ended up here, in this strange place. Her head started to throb with the effort.  
  
All at once it seemed like someone hit the mute button on the TV. The night became silent, unnaturally so. This scared her more than anything else. There was no wind, no insects, nothing. The only thing Erin could hear was her own ragged breathing and the hammering of her heart in her chest. Every beat her heart took was almost painful.  
  
The hairs on the back of her neck began to rise. Erin's gaze was locked straight ahead, looking toward the decrepit walls. A black hooded figure emerged from the darkness.  
  
Erin was paralyzed. Then her head exploded with pain. It felt like her skull would crack open. In her mind's eye she saw images: broken glass and muck, deep red pools of dripping blood, the hooded creature coming out of the corner, everything.  
  
"Oh god, no.no." Erin moaned. It was real, this was real. That thing was here. She had to get away, now! Her brain felt like it was about to over load. She redoubled her efforts to get out of the ropes, her eyes frantically looking for an escape route. Two more black hooded figures came out of the shadows. Together they slowly advanced on the group of terrified people.  
  
The ropes were biting into her wrists, and rubbing the skin raw. But Erin didn't care. She needed to get out of there.  
  
Without any warning Sam charged one of the hooded creatures, with his sword held high and a strange battle cry that shattered that silence that had taken hold of the night.  
  
'He's so very brave...' thought Erin '...so very useless...'  
  
The black robed figure knocked him away as easily as one would brush away a fly.  
  
Merry and Pippin both stepped in front of Frodo and Erin. They held their swords in a white knuckled grip. Before they had a chance to move, they were thrown aside. They landed in a heap with a sickening thud.  
  
Erin wasn't sure how many black hooded creatures there were, but she knew they were surrounded. They were like lions stalking their prey. Frodo started to step backwards. He dropped his sword, and grabbed Erin by the arm, pulling her back. Erin noticed that the ropes had loosed a little and continued to try to free herself.  
  
Erin felt a strong pull on her arm from Frodo. He had tripped on a rock and was now falling to the ground, taking Erin with him. Once on the ground Erin scooted away from the dark creature thingies, Frodo trying hard to follow. She had stopped when her back bumped into some thing- a collapsed pillar that was lying on the floor. She was trapped. Erin managed to back herself into a corner.  
  
Frodo was just to the left of Erin. She could see that the little guy was terrified. Frodo started to fumble with something in one of his pockets; it was a ring. He took one look at it, then at the creature who were only four feet away, and then he shoved it on his finger.  
  
Erin blinked twice. He was gone.  
  
'He left me, with these things? If I get out of this alive, I'll kill him.' Erin thought in shock.  
  
Erin forced herself out of her stupor. There was a hooded figure looming above her. It had its armored hand reaching out to grab her. Erin moved to the left trying to keep the distance between them. Suddenly it snatched its hand back as if it had been burned. It let out an angry cry.  
  
Erin didn't waste time. The rope that had tied her hands was now loose enough for her to get out of. Once her hands were free she put them out to her sides to stead herself, getting ready to run.  
  
'When in doubt, run.'  
  
She stopped suddenly. Her left hand was resting on something soft and warm. Looking down she saw her hand was resting in midair. Erin didn't have any time to process this new thought, the hooded figure whipped around and drew its sword.  
  
The only thing Erin knew now was pain. Her left hand was on fire, and she felt herself scream in agony. She clutched her hand to her chest, fell on to her back. Beside her came another scream of pain. Before her very eyes Frodo reappeared.  
  
He too was in pain, blood pouring from his chest. Her hand must have been resting on his chest when she was stabbed. Erin slowly lifted her bloody hand to her face. There was a large gaping gash through her palm, and she was able to see the night sky though her hand. She was sure she was going to pass out from the excruciating pain. The only part of her body that she could feel was her hand. She couldn't believe this was happening.  
  
Slowly though the pain, past the agony, she began to hear noises. She let her head roll to the side, allowing herself to see what was happening. Strider was back. He was driving the evil creatures away with a sword and a torch? It seemed like he was playing a violent game of King of The Hill. Erin didn't care any more. She didn't want to think any more.  
  
After Strider was sure the evil things were gone, he ran to Frodo's side. He picked up the sword that had stabbed both Frodo and Erin. As he held it, the sword tuned to dust and scattered in the wind. Strider picked up Frodo and said some thing to the other midgets. Merry and Pippin hauled Erin to her feet, and forced her to walk after Strider, half carrying her. Sam was right next to Strider looking at Frodo worriedly.  
  
Erin wasn't sure how long they walked before Strider let them stop. Some time during the march, Merry somehow tied a piece of cloth around her hand wound, in an effort to stop the bleeding. Erin hurt all over. Each step was agony. Every thing looked odd to her, too. There were colors and shapes swimming across her eyes. Stars and circles and squares—it was all so pretty, she mused half-asleep. She felt like she was on drugs- Not that she would know what it was like to take drugs mind you.  
  
'I don't understand any of this; I'm in a strange place full of weirdoes, smelly weirdoes, and I don't even know how I got here. I was stabbed, stabbed for god's sake. Am I going to die?' Erin thought in misery.  
  
Erin felt herself fall forward, as everything turned black. She had fallen unconscious, and was dead to the world around her.  
  
TBC

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**Author's ramblings: Hello every one. Whew, that was the longest chapter I have ever written. Be proud. I just want to thank every one who reviewed the last chapter; it was because of you that I'm posting again so soon. So if you want me to update quickly, please leave a review. The next chapter will be from Strider's point of view. Will that's it for now.  
  
By the way, thank you very much to:  
  
Iloveelves: Thank you, I hope you liked this chapter  
  
Flopsycon: I like the idea of adding more humor, I'm going to try it when Erin wakes up.  
  
THECheese Turkey: Thank you for your support. And it was an orc and Nazgul. Sorry if that confused you  
  
Kim: thank you.  
  
MSE: I hope you like the changes in this one. And many. many thanks to Mae. She is my beta reader, and now, my slave. **

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Lady Bella**


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